We left Worcester at 8. It was sunny but very cold, and progress was a little slower against the flow of the Severn. There were very few other boats about, but we joined one in Lincomb Lock, the last before Stourport. They let us leave first, as they wanted to watch us enter the locks up to the basin so they knew where to go (although it wasn't an entirely successful plan, as they over-shot and had to double back to get into the bottom staircase). Then it was up the York Road Lock, where we started meeting boats coming in the other direction, many of them Alvechurch hire boats. Although it was still cold, the sun came out for prolonged periods, making stretches of the canal really attractive, like Caldwall Lock.
At Kidderminster Lock we came up behind a Black Prince boat with a couple of South Africans on board who took everything very slowly. They didn't like using the gate paddles, so each lock took an age. At Wolverley Lock, there were boats all over the place, and we also met a boat in the narrow section just after Graham Booth's house (and boat) at Wolverley.
Our mooring for the night was at Kinver, where we saw our first moorhen chicks, on a nest on the other side of the canal. They provided plenty of entertainment. In the evening, we had a great meal at The Vine, next to Kinver Lock.
21 miles, 14 locks. (75, 52)
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